Efficiency and Ethically Responsible Management

One common justification for the pursuit of profit by business firms within a market economy is that profit is not an end in itself but a means to more efficiently produce and allocate resources. Profit, in short, is a mechanism that serves the market’s purpose of producing Pareto superior outcomes...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smith, Jeffery (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer 2018
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2018, Volume: 150, Issue: 3, Pages: 603-618
Further subjects:B Efficiency
B Market failures
B Markets
B Profit
B division of moral labor
B Implicit morality
B Heath
B Ethics and competition
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:One common justification for the pursuit of profit by business firms within a market economy is that profit is not an end in itself but a means to more efficiently produce and allocate resources. Profit, in short, is a mechanism that serves the market’s purpose of producing Pareto superior outcomes for society. This discussion examines whether such a justification, if correct, requires business managers to remain attentive to how their firm’s operation impacts the market’s purpose. In particular, it is argued that the value of efficiency, despite views to the contrary, cannot be fully separated from the planning and intentions of business managers as long as those managers direct their firms in an ethically responsible fashion. This position is inspired by, and serves as a supportive clarification of Joseph Heath’s so-called “market failures approach” to business ethics.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3175-x